Bears coach Ben Johnson on Lions going for it on fourth down with big lead
Johnson was asked whether he thought Lions coach Dan Campbell was running up the score.
The noise at Ford Field was deafening on a few occasions during the Detroit Lions’ 52-21 throttling of the Chicago Bears on Sunday, Sept. 14.
There was the noise that came with the opening intros, when Lions starters each got their own ovations as they ran onto the field. There were the cheers that came with the camera shots of celebrity fans in attendance such as Keegan-Michael Key, Jimmy Fallon and Eminem. The loudest noise was probably for Hall-of-Fame running back Barry Sanders — who happened to be sitting next to Eminem.
But there was one noise in particular that might reverberate long after this weekend: the “(Expletive) Ben Johnson” chants echoing throughout Ford Field during the second half. They weren’t the loudest by decibel level, but they might have been the strongest message delivered to the former Lions offensive coordinator by Detroit fans.
When Johnson was asked whether it was the environment he expected coming back to Detroit, he kept his answer brief.
“Yeah. Yup, sure is,” he said.
Johnson’s return was eventful for many of the Lions’ players and coaches who worked with jim in his time with the Lions from 2019-24. Three of those seasons, 2022-24, featured Johnson as one of the most acclaimed offensive coordinators in football.
But if returning to Detroit was a big deal for Johnson, he didn’t let it on.
“I really didn’t even think about that a whole lot,” he said. “I didn’t interact with those guys until walking off the field there in the end. A couple of guys said hey to me, and that was really it.”
One player who blossomed under Johnson in Detroit was Lions quarterback Jared Goff, who had a dynamic game Sunday, going 23-for-28 with 334 yards and five touchdowns. But despite the performance, you can count Goff as one person unhappy after the game, due to the chants aimed towards Johnson.
“I didn’t like that,” Goff said about the chants after the game. “He did a lot for us here. I don’t know if he deserved that.”
Safety Brian Branch, who recorded two tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble had more complicated feelings about facing off against Johnson, saying he was “very motivated.”
“We knew coming into the game that this was personal,” he said. “We felt like we’ve been (betrayed), from the staff to the players, and we love Ben. We still love Ben. He’s a great coach. He’s a great mastermind, but yeah, it was time to get after him.”
And get after him the Lions did, recording four sacks and one interception against Bears quarterback Caleb Williams, as well as another turnover.
But it was the Lions’ offense that did the most damage Sunday, putting up 511 yards and six touchdowns on their seven red zone attempts in their second game without Johnson.
It may be too soon to tell if the Lions offense under new coordinator John Morton will be as good as it was in 2024. But if this game was more representative of the Lions’ abilities than their 13-point dud against the Packers in Week 1, then Detroit should be in good standing the rest of the season.
Or as Lions’ receiver Jameson Williams more succinctly put it after the game: “You see 50 points up there.”
You can reach Christian at cromo@freepress.com
